Ohuruogu grins and bears up under eager City Hall inquisition

They began with a question about her training and another concerning her diet; then she was asked about her aims for the 2008 Olympics. When the inevitable inquiry arrived about how Christine Ohuruogu had coped during the past 12 months, when it seemed she would not be allowed to compete in Beijing, she answered without hesitation. "I was born with a talent," Britain's 400 metres world champion said. "It was a personal goal to make use of that."

By 3pm the master of ceremonies at City Hall had to halt questions from youngsters from the 32 boroughs of the capital, who had spent half an hour smiling, joking and quizzing Britain's most talked-about athlete. But they demanded more. When the formal part of yesterday's launch of a £1.7m sponsorship from Balfour Beatty for the London Youth Games ended, a queue weaved its way across the plush, top-floor setting at the offices of Ken Livingstone, London's mayor.

Each of the youngsters waited to have their photograph taken with Ohuruogu and her fellow British athlete Jo Fenn, many leaving the stage with the east Londoner's autograph across the back of their shirts. Two days after being cleared to run in the Olympics, following her doping suspension, this response could not have been more in Ohuruogu's favour.

"The kids were great," said the main attraction."It has been a bit of a crazy week, something out of the ordinary. I'm just looking forward now to getting on with things. The case is closed. I am motivated and am moving forward."

A new fluency was apparent in Ohuruogu's answers as she talked about how she competed in London's annual youth sporting spectacle when she was at school and running for the borough of Newham. The youngsters were entranced as Ohuruogu gave them all the advice they were hoping to hear.

"I competed at netball for two years at this event before moving to the sprints," she said. "I remember competing at Crystal Palace for the first time, and it was fantastic. It was a great experience, it was like a mini-Olympics."

When she was asked how old she was when she competed at the London Youth Games, she could not remember. But we have come to learn that Ohuruogu can be forgetful. She will compete for Britain next summer, and beyond, after overturning a ban which prevents athletes who have a doping record from representing the country in the Olympic Games. Ohuruogu missed three drugs tests, leading to her suspension in 2006. She returned to win gold at the World Championships in Osaka last summer.

Whatever the sceptics think about her promoting this event for youngsters - perhaps the first step on the way to regaining a role as the face of London's 2012 Olympics - Ohuruogu had been earmarked to take part before her British Olympic Association hearing on Monday. Anthony Kendall, the chairman of the London Youth Games, said: "Christine has shown loyalty to us and we are showing loyalty to her."

It is possible she would not have been in attendance had the BOA's appeals panel not found in her favour. But she is determined to put as much of the past behind her as she can. She insisted she has not paid much attention to the blanket media coverage she has received since Monday.

Signing another shirt, she wrote "Good luck from Christine O", accompanied with a drawing of a smiling face. It was an image drawn by someone determined to start the next phase of her life.